First introduced in 1989, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most widely utilized medications worldwide, both in the ambulatory and inpatient clinical settings. The PPIs are currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of a variety of gastrointestinal disorders including symptomatic peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and nonulcer dyspepsia as well as for prevention of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients receiving antiplatelet therapy. Continue reading →

The freezing of oocytes has become a clinically viable option for women who wish to have a child in the future but are facing either an age-related or iatrogenic decrease in the quality and quantity of oocytes.Continue reading →

Positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) complement each other’s strengths in integrated PET/CT. Most PET/CT studies in oncology are performed with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). FDG is a glucose analogue that is taken up and trapped within viable cells. An increased glycolytic activity is a characteristic in many types of cancers resulting in avid accumulation of FDG. These tumours excel as “hot spots” in FDG-PET/CT imaging. FDG-PET/CT proved to be of high diagnostic value in staging and restaging of different malignant diseases, such as colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, malignant lymphomas, and many more. Continue reading →

Recent guidelines published by the American College of Gastroenterology suggest that urgent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (within 24 hours after admission) is indicated in patients with biliary pancreatitis who have concurrent acute cholangitis, but it is not needed in most patients who do not have evidence of ongoing biliary obstruction.Continue reading →

Primary infection with varicella–zoster virus (VZV) results in chickenpox, characterized by viremia with a diffuse rash and seeding of multiple sensory ganglia, where the virus establishes lifelong latency. Herpes zoster is caused by reactivation of latent VZV in cranial-nerve or dorsal-root ganglia, with spread of the virus along the sensory nerve to the dermatome.Continue reading →

There are numerous potential clinical uses of the 12-lead ECG. The ECG may reflect changes associated with primary or secondary myocardial processes (e.g., those associated with coronary artery disease, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, or infiltrative disorders), metabolic and electrolyte abnormalities, and therapeutic or toxic effects of drugs or devices. Electrocardiography serves as the gold standard for the noninvasive diagnosis of arrhythmias and conduction disturbances, and it occasionally is the only marker for the presence of heart disease.Continue reading →